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Manual / Sketch

Spline, Point and Text in a Sketch

Draw free-form curves, hole position points, and text as sketch shapes.

Edition: Standard+

What it does

Tool How to use it
Spline Click control points one after another. Double-click or press Esc to finish.
Point Click once per point. Use it to set hole positions for the Hole Wizard (Position drills at every Point).
Text Creates text as outlines around the letters. You can use Extrude / Cut / Wrap with it. The settings panel has Text (default "MET"), Font (DejaVu Sans / Serif / Sans Mono), Height (10), Centre X, Centre Y and Angle.

Where to find it

Sketch ribbon › Draw › Spline / Point / Text, or Part ribbon › Model › Sketch › Point

Drawing the second Spline of the fin (2 Points mark the screw holes)
Drawing the second Spline of the fin (2 Points mark the screw holes)

Steps (Spline)

  1. Click Spline.
  2. Click the control points one at a time. The curve passes through every point.
  3. Double-click the last point, or press Esc, to finish.
  4. You can adjust the shape by dragging points in Select mode.

Try it: Surfboard fin

A surf fin needs a smooth, swept-back curve that straight lines and arcs cannot give you. Use two splines for the edges, two points for the screw holes and your own text on the side.

  1. Click Sketch and press Enter (XY-Plane). Draw a Line from (110, 0) to the origin. This is the fin base.
  2. Choose Spline and click (0, 0) [Endpoint], (22, 50), (50, 95) and (88, 118), then press Esc. This is the leading edge.
  3. Choose Spline again and click (88, 118) [Endpoint], (82, 88), (90, 40) and (110, 0) [Endpoint], then press Esc. This is the trailing edge.
  4. Choose Point and click (25, 10) and (85, 10). Click Finish Sketch, then Extrude 6 mm.
  5. Click Hole Wizard and under Position choose - all 2 points (Drill) for two 4 mm holes.
  6. Right-click the top face › Insert Sketch on Surface › Text. Set Text SURF, Font DejaVu Sans, Height 12, Centre X 0, Centre Y 0 (on a face, the sketch origin is the centre of the face) and Angle 0. Click Finish Sketch, then Extrude Cut 1 mm.

Surfboard fin with spline edges, screw holes at Points and engraved text
Surfboard fin with spline edges, screw holes at Points and engraved text

Challenge: In Select mode, drag the (82, 88) spline point to (75, 90) for a more raked fin. The extrude updates with it.

See also